


Aligned  by The Stars

by sparklehyunee



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Back Together, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romance, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, baekhyun has a daughter, chanyeol is a chairman, haeun is the cutest toddler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:02:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28525914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklehyunee/pseuds/sparklehyunee
Summary: All Baekhyun wanted was to give a better life for his daughter and start anew as a housekeeper at the Park household but to his pure, rotten luck, what should he do when the young master who just came home from abroad is none other than his ex-fiance, Park Chanyeol?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 9
Kudos: 72





	1. One

Baekhyun wipes the counter-top and softly whistles under his breath. He halts his movement when he hears the head maid, Seohyun urgently calling for his name from the living room. 

“Hyun!”

Baekhyun rushes out of the kitchen, “Yes?” 

“Can you come with me to get some groceries? Please, this is urgent! The chairman asked us to prepare some special dishes for lunch, there’s not much time left!”

“Okay, sure. I’m done with my work anyway,” Baekhyun states, confused but he doesn’t ask much as he can sense the urgency in her voice. He excuses himself to put the wet rag away. 

The head maid thanks him and then leaves the room, sighing in relief as she walks away to retrieve the car keys and her wallet.

She had asked a few other maids earlier but they were all busy with their tasks, thank goodness Baekhyun is free. 

“Haeun is asleep, right? Please watch her for me, Seungwan. I’m not sure how long this will take so if she wakes up and starts crying, you can give her some snacks, I think she’ll be quite happy with snacks. If it doesn’t work, please give me a call, I’ll rush back home as fast as possible,” Baekhyun says, leaving a long reminder behind to the other maid in charge of cleaning the second floor. 

He isn’t used to leaving Haeun, shortened from Byun Haeun, behind. The two-year-old can be quite a handful if she doesn’t get to see her ‘papa’ in front of her eyes whenever she wakes up from her nap, leaving it almost impossible for Baekhyun to leave the mansion and whenever he does, he will always bring her along; which is rare as he almost never steps a foot outside the place he now calls his ‘home’.

“Is someone coming? Why is Grandpa Park asking us to make other dishes? I thought yesterday he told us to make his favourites?” Baekhyun asks the head maid he now considers his older sister, strapping the seatbelt in the passenger seat. 

Though he is reaching half-fifty, he still doesn’t have a driver’s licence, deeming it no use because he won’t ever get a car in the first place, opting to go by public transportation more. 

Seohyun reverses the car and mutters while her eyes are on the side-mirror, “He told me that a special guest is coming, I recall him saying about his grandson abruptly coming home from abroad. I think he will be staying with us later.” 

Grandson? Baekhyun has heard the old man talk of his grandson before. He knows that the said grandchild is currently living abroad, managing the family company’s brand in New York.

“Oh, I see… So, what are we making?” 

Seohyun lists out the dishes they have to make, along with some questionable ones such as chocolate cake and melon _bingsu_ (shaved ice)? 

“Wait— we have to make melon bingsu too? And chocolate cake? How old is this grandson again?” Baekhyun interrupts, suppressing his laughter and shakes his head in disbelief.

However, deep down in his heart, it tinges of unnoticeable pain. The desserts remind him so much of someone he used to know.

Somehow, he cannot help himself from wondering, how is the latter doing? Is he eating well? He feels sorry but he immediately shakes off the thought. 

He doesn’t deserve to know.

“Oh no, dear. We’re buying the bingsu at the store later,” Seohyun says, snapping him out of his thoughts. “—but you’re making the chocolate cake, okay? You bake some _mean_ chocolate cake, even Grandpa says so,” she continues.

Baekhyun nods, understanding. “Sure thing.”

Baekhyun enters the manor with a bag of groceries in each of his hands, quickly making his way to the kitchen to put them down on top of the counter-top. They’re quite heavy and he feels like his arms might fall off soon if he doesn’t get the extra weight away. 

He heaves a sigh and leaves the kitchen to help Seohyun with the rest of the bags.

“Papa!” a tiny voice calls from the top of the stairs.

Baekhyun looks up and his mouth blooms into a bright smile. His little princess is up and Grandpa Park is holding her hand. The little one excitedly makes grabby hands to the old man, demanding to be picked up and brought down.

The mahogany stairs are too huge for her little waddling feet. Her papa had always reminded her not to go down by herself.

“Hey, princess, did you have a good nap?” Baekhyun greets her, picking her up. “No wonder you wake up so well-behaved today, grandpa is here.”

He smooches her cheeks repeatedly until the toddler is a giggling mess.

“P-pa..pa, sto-stop..! Papa twickles Eunnie,” she giggles with her little lisps, wiggling left and right in her papa’s hold. 

She had just turned two last month, her pronunciation still a little off just like other kids her age. Therefore, little Haeun calls herself Eunnie. 

“When did you get back, grandpa?” Baekhyun takes his chance to ask the old man, though his eyes are still fixated on his daughter.

“Just now,” Grandpa Park replies, his eyes also looking at the two figure with adoration.

“So, what did my little Haeun do while papa was away, hm?” 

“Eunnie played with grandpa!” she exclaims excitedly. 

“Really? Was it fun?” Baekhyun asks and turns his body to face the old man, grinning mischievously. “Is Grandpa Park much more fun than Papa?”

“No! Papa more fun. Eunnie loves Papa,” she brings her hand beside Baekhyun’s ears and whispers none-so-discreetly. 

“Grandpa heard that Haeun,” Grandpa Park chimes in, faking his tone to sound stern. 

“Oh no! Grandpa angry— Papa, put down Eunnie, put down!” she gushes restlessly, and Baekhyun does so. 

The little girl approaches Grandpa Park and tugs on his trousers, looking up with sad eyes and extending her hands forward, asking for a hug, “Grandpa don’t be angry, Eunnie is sorry. Eunnie loves Grandpa.”

Grandpa Park lets down his facade. He crouches and brings her into his arm, admitting his defeat. He can never win against those doe eyes. 

“Look at you, how can I be angry at you, little darling.”

“Grandpa not angry anymore, okay? Eunnie wants to play with Mochi, grandpa lets go!” the toddler excitedly beams. Her tiny hand grabs the wrinkled hand into her hold— well not exactly hold as it can barely wrap around Grandpa Park’s pinkie. 

Mochi is a Maltese puppy that Grandpa had bought for her birthday when she claims to be lonely with no friends. Baekhyun had insisted that there is no need to get her a puppy and don’t spoil her so much. 

But of course, Grandpa Park, as a chairman of a mega-company can be quite adamant when he wants to— it was in his nature as a businessman. Baekhyun could only shake his head when the Maltese was brought home the next day. 

Haeun is spoiled rotten by his kind employer, and he doesn’t want her to be adjusted to this kind of lifestyle because no one knows what might happen in the future. 

He feels a bitter taste in his mouth when he realises that he could get fired if things ever go wrong in the future later although, the generous old man had assured him many times that he will never fire Baekhyun and he does not mind spoiling his daughter.

He is more than indebted to the old man; Grandpa Park had saved their life. He doesn’t even want to imagine what would happen to him and Haeun if they hadn’t met Grandpa kit in that one fateful meeting. 

“Princess, let’s let grandpa rest first, alright?” Baekhyun speaks up and smooths down her hair, patting her head adoringly when she juts out her lips unhappily. She wants to play with grandpa!

“How about you play with Secretary Junmyeon first?” the grandpa offers when he sees tears brimming in the little girl’s eyes.

Baekhyun tilts his head. Secretary Junmyeon is here? Oh, grandpa must have invited him to lunch. It wasn’t anything unusual to see the secretary at the mansion. He is, after all, the chairman’s personal assistant.

Haeun’s face instantly lights up and she nods giddily, “Eunnie wants to play with handsome uncle!”

“Go, your handsome uncle is in the garden, I think.”

The little girl did not wait much before skipping away, dashing off without looking back at her papa and grandpa. She can’t wait to play with handsome uncle and Mochi!

“Be careful, baby girl!” Baekhyun shouts. 

They can hear her calling for the secretary who has worked for the chairman for nine years and is one of Grandpa Park’s most trusted employees. 

“That kid… she left me for a handsome man, who did she take after, huh… _couldn’t be me for sure_ ,” Baekhyun scrunches his nose distastefully and blows on his bangs. 

Grandpa Park laughs wholeheartedly at the words. “She has always loved Junmyeon more than anyone else.”

“Grandpa don’t laugh!” Baekhyun stomps his feet playfully and frowns before he quickly brings his arms together, crossing them on his chest. “Have you taken your medicines today?” 

The old man’s laugh abruptly stops and he scratches his head guiltily. By the face that the old man is making, Baekhyun knows that he is yet again, trying to run away from taking his medicines.

“Grandpa, I don’t know if anyone has told you this, but you are an old man. You have to take your medicines! What if you get rushed to the hospital again?” Baekhyun places his hand on his waist and scolds the old man sternly, worry evident on his face. 

Even the almighty chairman cannot do anything else but cower under the younger male’s displeased gaze. 

It might also look comical to the ones watching because Baekhyun is actually a head shorter than him. 

The maids nearby also shake their head, the two are back at it again, they figured.

“ _Geez_ , Hyun. Spare this old man some break. I’m a very stern chairman at work, okay? Imagine what would my workers say if they see me get scolded like this…” the chairman tries to work his way out with puppy eyes. 

Baekhyun would’ve gotten swayed if he doesn’t find the situation remotely hilarious. _This old man is giving me puppy eyes!_

The chairman of a multi-billionaire company is known to be one who hardly smiles, let alone be someone who actually _knows_ how to make puppy eyes! He should snap a picture, send it to the tabloids and make millions from it!

Baekhyun quickly schools his expression, hiding the smile that is threatening to come out at the old man’s antics. “You should have eaten your medicines if you don’t want your workers to see you get scolded by this housekeeper, Chairman Park.”

“Okay, okay… this old man is sorry, I will take my medicines now. Seungwan, can you get my bag from my office?” Grandpa Park solemnly says and takes his seat at the head of the dining table.

Baekhyun follows him from behind and stands next to the chairman. Grandpa Park eyes him weirdly and mutters.

“Hyun, you can go now. My grandson is arriving soon, have you baked the chocolate cake? I think it will take some time right? Don’t worry, I am just waiting for Seungwan to bring my bag.”

Baekhyun smiles sweetly and shakes his head, “Oh, it’s okay. I’ll go once I see that you have taken your medicines. The chocolate cake doesn’t really take that much time to make.” 

Baekhyun watches him with hawk eyes, from the second Seungwan places his bag onto the marble table and excuses herself to the kitchen, to the way Grandpa Park hesitantly takes out the bottles of pills from his bag. 

“Hyun, I think it would be great if I have lunch first, don’t you think s—”

“Grandpa.”

And that one word is all it takes for the old man to unwillingly gulp the pills down his trachea. 

Baekhyun nods, satisfied. “Okay, _good job_ grandpa, I’ll be off to work now. You can rest, I will call you for lunch later.” 

Baekhyun taps the old man on the back and excuses himself. He sighs once he reaches the kitchen, what would he do with the chairman... _Even Haeun takes medicine better than you, grandpa._

Baekhyun places the chocolate cake he had cut into smaller pieces onto the table and claps his hand silently, happy with the way the cake turned out to look and taste.

_Damn right… I really do make some mean chocolate cake._

Around the dessert are a bunch of other special traditional dishes that Grandpa Park had ordered them to make for his grandson who is arriving in less than 30 minutes.

Grandpa Park is excitedly waiting for his grandson that he had not met for a long time; the last time was when the chairman had flown to New York for an important meeting, where a year had already passed.

No one in the household had met the chairman’s grandson before, considering that Grandpa Park had only moved to South Korea less than 2 years ago. Before, he was residing in Australia, only monitoring the company from afar but certain circumstances had forced him to move back to his mainland.

The maids and servants are currently lined up near the main entrance, waiting for the young master to arrive, Baekhyun included when suddenly a cry resonated through the hall.

Haeun, in her white frilly dress comes into view. Baekhyun had placed her onto the sofa in the living room and she was sleeping when he left, exhausted after playing with Secretary Junmyeon who had left to pick up the Young Master at the airport, it seems like she had accidentally woken up from her nap.

She stands on her little two feet before she ditches walking and decides to crawl instead, all the while crying her hearts out. 

“P-pa.. papa.” 

Baekhyun apologetically glances at Grandpa Park, and when the latter nods, he excuses himself.

“Yes, papa is here, sweetheart,” he picks her up and pats her back, softly humming a tune that he always uses to put his daughter back to sleep. 

“Grandpa, I will put her to sleep first.”

“Alright. Call us if you need anything,” the old man says in a fatherly tone.

Just as Baekhyun is about to climb the stairs, he hears a loud honk from the main door. He considers waiting to join them and greet Grandpa Park’s grandson, it will only take a while but when Haeun whines into his shoulders, Baekhyun decides to go upstairs instead. 

He doesn’t want Haeun to start acting up in front of Grandpa Park’s grandson.

Chanyeol looks out the window and takes a mental note of the changes that happened to the city of Seoul.

There’s not much change, after all, he was only gone for two years. He looks to the front and calls for the man in the passenger seat.

He knows Junmyeon had worked as his grandfather’s personal assistant for almost a decade. 

“Junmyeon hyung.”

“Yes, Young Master?”

“Please drop the formalities, I am younger than you.”

“I don’t think Madame Park would like that, Young Master,” the 33-year-old man coughs, uncomfortable as he recalls what the mother of the man in the back seat had once told him.

_“I know that my father-in-law does not care how you address him but with my family, address us properly.”_

Junmyeon could still hear the chilling tone that the charismatic woman had told him once. It still sends chills down his spine.

“She’s not here, it wouldn’t be a problem, hyung.” 

“Alright, I’ll try, Chanyeol-ssi.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, he guesses that’s the most he could get out of the older male. 

“Is grandfather doing fine? How is his diabetes?” 

“He is taking his medicines well, Chanyeol-ssi,” the secretary answers. Thanks to Hyun, he adds in his head.

“That’s great to hear,” Chanyeol responds and then silence fills the car. He closes his eyes for a while, worn out after being in the flight for almost 20 hours.

Though he had flown back with the most expensive seat available, almost a day inside an airplane can be very suffocating

“—Chanyeol-ssi, Chanyeol-ssi, we are here,” the secretary calls as soon as the high-rised amber gate of the Park Mansion comes into view. 

Chanyeol’s eyes flutter open and he scans his surroundings, slowly coming back to his senses. “We’re here?”

“Yes, Chanyeol.”

They entered the gate and everything around him still looks familiar though he hasn't been there for at least seven years.

Ever since his grandmother passed away a few years back, his grandfather had brought himself to Australia to expand their company, leaving the huge villa empty until he decided to come back a little over two years ago, just in time Chanyeol had flown to New York. 

They only got to meet a few times in those years Chanyeol was abroad and the young male truly worry about his grandfather, more once he learned that the elder has very chronic diabetes.

That is why after two years of working far from home, he decided to come back

He decides to face the future.

Thinking of the past breaks his heart, still, but he is not going to mope around forever.

Moreover, Grandpa Park is living alone and he feels sorry that the old man had to live by himself for so many years before.

Chanyeol’s parents are now residing in France; his father working hard to expand their business in Europe, and his little sister, Sooyoung is studying fashion designing in the city that birthed iconic fashion bands, Italy. 

It seems like when grandfather was away, everyone was in South Korea but ironically, when he decided to come back, his family had all left the country.

Chanyeol steps out of the car, thanking the driver for opening the door and pockets his sunglasses. 

The door opens to reveal his grandfather, still looking as youthful as he was a year ago. He is immediately engulfed in a hug.

“My grandson!”

Chanyeol grins, showing off his pearly teeth and quietly mutters, “I missed you, grandfather.”

“Chanyeol, why did you get so thin? I think you got thinner than last year,” the old man says, turning his physical around, closely scrutinizing his only grandson. 

“I’m fine, grandfather. What did you prepare for lunch? I am famished.”

“I prepared your favourite dishes for you, I hope it still doesn’t change. Who knows, you have become westernised and only eat hamburgers now,” the elder man teases.

“I don’t think so, grandfather. I still enjoy my kimchi and samgyeopsal,” Chanyeol retorts back playfully.

“What are we still doing outside? Let’s go inside.”

Chanyeol takes off his shoes and enters the door. He stares in shock when suddenly, he has a line of maids and servants bowing before him, chorusing;

“Welcome home, Young Master!”

“Grandfather… what is this?” he whispers tightly to the old man, not holding back his confused expression.

“I didn’t ask them to call you that, this must be Junmyeon’s doing, ask him…” Grandpa Park defends himself.

Chanyeol eaves a heavy sigh, his chest heaving up and down in annoyance. 

That secretary… really. 

Before he can tell them to drop the title, a woman in her 30’s comes forward and introduces herself as the head maid.

“We are happy to serve you, Young Master.”

“Oh— okay then. You all are dismissed, get back to work.”

Once they are settled at the dining table, Chanyeol gaps at the rays of dishes beautifully presented on the table.

“Why did you make so much?” He turns to ask his grandfather.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly sure of what your favourites are, so I asked them to make everything I thought you might like,” the old man shrugs nonchalantly and begins putting small portions of each dish onto his grandson’s plate. “Eat a lot, you are too skinny— and you could’ve told me what you wanted to eat if you didn’t forget to tell me you’re coming home until I have to find it out through the HR from New York..”

“I apologise, I totally forgot to give you a call and I wanted to surprise you.”

Chanyeol almost wheezes when a maid emerges from the kitchen, holding a cup of melon bingsu before placing it beside him. “You know me so well, grandfather. Thank you for this,”

Lunch went by smoothly, and Chanyeol could catch up with his grandfather; sharing stories of his life abroad and updating the chairman of how well their business is going in America.

Lastly, he takes a spoonful of chocolate cake and puts them in his mouth. He stops chewing when the taste finally hits him.

_… How is it possible for a cake to taste so similarly? The second I come back to this country, everything reminds me of you…_ He chuckles bitterly and continues his bite. 

Well, at least he could taste what used to be his favourite cake that was made by a particular person after years of longing. 

“Grandfather, who made this cake?”

“Child, stop the ‘grandfather’, you are too formal for your own good. Call me grandpa, it makes me feel younger, okay,” the old man scolds jokingly. “That chocolate cake is made by Hyun, he works here as a housekeeper.”

“Oh…”

“Why are you asking?”

“Nothing… it just tasted _painfully_ familiar,” he whispered under his breath.

Noticing the abrupt change in his grandson’s tone, he does not ask further.

Chanyeol flops his whole body down the soft mattress, sighing in pleasure when his back hits the mattress. 

He is beyond tired and he wishes nothing more than to just sleep his exhaustion away.

Realising that he hasn’t showered for more than 24 hours, Chanyeol forcefully drags himself off to the bathroom. Perhaps a warm bath can help soothe his tense muscles.

An hour later, freshly out of the shower, Chanyeol changes into a sleeveless shirt and shorts and heads for bed. Just as he is about to crumble into the pleasure of dreamland, his ears catch the sound of… a child crying?

Alarmed, he immediately sits up. He doesn’t recall having any other siblings except for his little sister. 

Or did his grandfather remarry and have a baby?

That sounds unlikely because the elder would’ve told him if he ever remarried and… a baby at that age? Chanyeol doubts that.

Or was this house left empty for so long that another being had decided to occupy this mansion?

He takes careful steps down the corridor, searching for the source of cries and finally finds his answer when he sees a baby girl, crying and whimpering in the middle of a king-sized bed in one of the rooms with its door left open. 

Chanyeol takes a peek inside and finds no one else there except for the baby, who looks nothing older than 2 years old. He bravely comes closer and inspects the toddler. 

_It really is a baby…_

He tries patting her on the back, humming a tune so special to him and surprisingly succeeds when the baby flops back down on her tummy, her cries now reduced to whimpers only.

When the baby has turned quiet, only the sound of air-conditioning resonating in the background, Chanyeol pulls back his hand and quietly tiptoes to the door.

He must get to his grandpa as fast as possible and ask him who the baby is.

Just as he is one step away from leaving the door, a cry is heard again from the bed.

Chanyeol sighs and makes his way to the bed again, repeating the same cycle again except this time, the little girl is on her back, her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around his finger.

It seems like this little girl does not want him to go away.

Left with no choice but to carry her downstairs to grandpa, he carefully pulls her up and places her head onto his shoulder, his arms holding onto her little body securely. 

He has never held a kid before, let alone a baby.

The baby circles her small arms around his neck and dozes back to sleep.

Chanyeol continues humming, patting her back on instinct as he makes his way down the corridor. He wants to call for his grandfather, who he is sure is in the living room monitoring their stock prices through the big screen of the television, but is restricted since he has her in his arms.

He cautiously goes down the stairs, one by one, as if one slip of his movement might injure the baby. 

Suddenly, his feet are glued to the ground and every single cell in his body feels like shutting down. 

It takes every single strength in his body to hold her up, whole body visibly trembling as he comes face to face with someone he never thought he would meet again. 

“Hyun, you should’ve met the Young Master! I swear I’ve never seen someone so good looking, that man looks like he stepped straight out of the Vogue magazine!” the head maid, Seohyun gushes eagerly.

Baekhyun chuckles at her enthusiasm and playfully nudges her shoulder, “Oh-ho, I see you’ve got your eyes on the Young Master already?” 

“No, no, no! In my defense, I was just admiring God’s creation okay,” Seohyun clicks her tongue.

Although their age gap is huge; with a ten years difference in age, Seohyun is such a young soul that she doesn’t look or act like someone who is supposedly 35 years-old. 

“Besides, the Young Master is still young, he’s just twenty-eight. Secretary Junmyeon told me,” she adds chirpily, her hands busy wiping the plates Baekhyun is handling her. 

Baekhyun closes the water tap and reaches out for a cloth, drying his hands before moving towards the fridge to check if there are any remnants of his chocolate cake.

“Young Master ate a lot of your cake too, Hyunnie~ I told you they are to-die-for.”

Surprised, he opens the fridge to see that there are only a few pieces left. He thought Seohyun was bluffing but it seems like she isn’t.

“Are you sure the Young Master ate it all? Did you check if grandpa had any?”

“I was watching the whole time and I can assure you that the chairman did not even have a lick of your cake. That old man is diabetic, he’s searching for trouble if he eats sweet things.”

“Then did he reall—”

“Hyun!” Luna, the youngest gardener interferes, breathless; perhaps from running.

“Yes, Luna?”

“I was in the garden and I think I heard Haeun crying.”

Since he always leaves the veranda a bit open for fresh air even when the air conditioning is on, it might be possible that Haeun’s shrill cries are heard from the garden. Besides, his room is facing the garden.

“Really? But the baby monitor is quiet though?” Baekhyun questions with a wrinkled nose. 

“Oh, maybe it was just me, you can go check her up if you wan—”

Something clicks in his mind as he remembers not turning the baby monitor on since he had to change the battery earlier. “Oh my god! I forgot to turn it on!”

He quickly rushes out of the kitchen, slamming the fridge shut in panic. 

How long has Haeun been crying? Oh god, he feels terrible.

Baekhyun hurried steps come to a halt when he spots his daughter in someone’s hold.

Someone who he wished to never meet again in this lifetime.

Someone who he had hurt badly.

Someone who doesn’t deserve any of the pain he had given.

Someone who deserves his utmost apology.

Chanyeol, his ex-fiance, is standing there in the middle of the spiral stairs, carrying his little Haeun.

“...C-chanyeol?” he croaks out with difficulty.

“Baekhyun?”

“H-how—”

“Oh, I see you have met each other! That’s great! Hyun, this is my grandson, Park Chanyeol,” Grandpa Park comes out of nowhere and introduces them to each other. 

“Chanyeol, this is the one who baked the chocolate cake, Hyun, the housekeeper and my personal caretaker… he can get very mean when he wants to force me to eat my meds,” Grandpa Park lightly jokes, not realising the tense atmosphere among them.

“Hyun?”

“Pa..pa?” Haeun awakes and softly calls. 

When she becomes aware that the one holding her is not her papa, her bottom lips trembles and she looks around with glassy eyes, locking eyes with her papa who is standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Straightaway, she bursts out crying and calls out for her papa again.

Baekhyun storms forward and Haeun exchanges hands. The little girl immediately wraps her arms around her papa, burying her face into his neck. 

“Papa is here, baby,” he comforts, rubbing her back to calm her down.

However, Baekhyun is anything but calm. His heart is beating like crazy and his stomach is doing somersaults at how close he is standing to Chanyeol. 

Especially since he can feel Chanyeol’s menacing gaze boring holes into him.

With how close the distance between them is, he can smell the cologne and the distinctive smell of Chanyeol’s lemon aftershave.

Nothing has changed. Chanyeol smells the exact same like he did two years ago.

Baekhyun closes his eyes and looks down, preventing his teary eyes from getting seen by the taller. 

He turns around and faces Grandpa Park instead. “Grandpa, Young Master, I will excuse myself first, I think Haeun is a little bit sleepy.”

As he passes by Chanyeol, he feels the latter grab his arms, firmly holding him but not hurting him, “I believe we need to talk, _Byun Baekhyun_.”

“ _Later_ , let’s talk later,” Baekhyun whispers with bated breath and leaves before his ex-fiance can respond.

Chanyeol breathes in heavily, trying to contain his emotions by balling his fists into a ball. He squeezes so hard that the veins on his forearms start popping up.

“What was that?” his grandpa questions obliviously. “You guys know each other?”

“Oh, we do know each other… we knew each other so well, grandpa…” Chanyeol murmurs defeatedly. 

What sick twisted game is fate playing?

In his room, once he puts Haeun back to sleep and ensures that she is deeply asleep, Baekhyun slides down next to the huge vase of fresh baby’s breath. He pulls his knees together and buries his face in it, curling to make himself as small as possible.

He cannot believe that out of so many people in this country, he has to get involved with his ex-fiance's grandfather.

He laughs in disbelief. 

Everything is his fault.

How can he face someone he had hurt so much?

Is there even room for forgiveness in Chanyeol’s heart?

Unconsciously, beads of tears slowly make its way down his cheeks.

Now, what should he do?

Should he leave?

All sorts of thoughts are running through his head and he pulls his hair frustratedly, trying to make them stop.

Baekhyun doesn’t remember how long he stayed in that position, the soft knocks on the door are the ones snapping him out of his thoughts. 

He hastily wipes the traces of tears away— or at least, tries to wipe the traces away. His red face and eyes are a dead giveaway but Baekhyun still tries to make himself look as presentable as possible. 

Though it is obvious who is behind the door, Baekhyun wants to give himself the benefit of doubt, who knows it might really be Grandpa Park that is calling for him.

He smooths down his shirt and fixes his hair that has gone haywire from his constant pulling. 

With a deep breath, he opens the door.

His breath hitches once he comes face to face with the grandson instead. 

What was he expecting?

Of course, it is Chanyeol; his lover who he left without proper explanation two years ago.

“Let’s talk.”

Baekhyun silently follows behind his past lover to the third floor where the gym and open roof swimming pool are.

“Sit.”

Baekhyun sits down at the end of the swimming pool’s lounge chair without any words; afraid that if he opens his mouth, he will make the taller angrier.

Though, Chanyeol looks surprisingly calm as he studies the smaller male who keeps on fidgeting in his seat. 

Chanyeol then takes a seat on the chair opposite the smaller. 

“Do you want to talk about it yourself or should I ask?”

Chanyeol purses his lips when the younger only nods. “What is it? Will you tell me yourself or should I ask?” he repeats.

“Forget it, I’ll ask instead,” Chanyeol says sharply.

“Who is she? Haeun?” he starts.

Baekhyun looks down and plays with his fingers, “M-My daughter…”

“Don’t lie to me, Byun Baekhyun . Funny how everyone calls you differently now but you’re still the same _you_.”

Annoyed, Baekhyun looks up and scowls defensively, “I am not lying, she is my daughter.” 

Chanyeol smirks when Baekhyun panickingly looks down again after they accidentally locked eyes. Can Baekhyun get any obvious?

“You can’t have a daughter alone, Baekhyun. Where is her _mom_?”

“I told you that she is _mine_! Mine and only mine!”

“Oh, _really_? When did you give birth to her? I bet you looked sexy pregnant, care to share some pictures? Haeun is at least two, so if you’re pregnant then she must be mine, right?” Chanyeol provokes, leaning forward to tilt the smaller male’s chin up.

Baekhyun’s eyes wander around, avoiding looking at Chanyeol at all cost and his hands start to sweat profusely. He weakly pushes Chanyeol’s hand away from his chin. “S-Stop the n-nonsense… I’m not a _carrier_ …”

“You told me she’s yours, was I wrong?” Chanyeol leans back and crosses his arms. 

When Baekhyun keeps his mouth shut, Chanyeol suppresses his sigh and clasps his hands together. “Alright, let’s move on instead. Why did you leave me?”

When he hears the question, Baekhyun wants to do nothing else but melt into the ground. He feels worse when Chanyeol asks him so nonchalantly, his tone very light and casual.

What is this? Why is he not angry? Baekhyun wonders. 

A voice deep in his heart tells him that Chanyeol might have already moved on. It has been two whole years, what was he expecting? Baekhyun swallows his saliva with difficulty, his throat feels like sandpaper.

“Why did you leave two years ago?” Chanyeol asks again when he gets no answer as Baekhyun seems to be lost in his own thoughts.

Baekhyun cowers and keeps his head down.

Chanyeol runs his fingers through his hair frustratedly. He exhales loudly and stands up.

“Stand up,” he orders. “I said stand up, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun gradually stands up and he gulps nervously as he eyes the infinity pool just a few feet beside him.

Baekhyun presses his eyes shut when he feels Chanyeol stepping closer to him.

_Is he going to kick me into the pool? I cannot swim!_

All of sudden, instead of finding himself deep inside the infinity pool, he is gathered into a warm embrace instead, his face buried into a familiar chest.

“W-What—?” he lets out a pathetic squeak.

“ _I missed you so much_. ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop dee doo lets start the year with chanbaek angst #happynewyear
> 
> twt: sparklehyunee
> 
> p/s: yes I also own the thai bl ver of this story no biggie I'm still the author


	2. Two

Baekhyun tosses around in bed, careful enough not to disturb Haeun that is sleeping beside him. The toddler refused to sleep in her baby cot for some reason and Baekhyun was too tired to argue with the little one and he just let her do what she wanted.

He lies down on his side, quietly watching his baby girl.  _ You are my world… Byun Haeun. _

He is having trouble sleeping after being reminded of what happened at the swimming pool, the scene repeating inside his head like a broken record.

_ “I missed you so much” _

__

_ “W-What are you doing?” Baekhyun pushes the taller away after his mind finally registered that he was in his ex-fiance’s embrace.  _

__

_ “I was so angry,” Chanyeol starts. “I was so fucking angry that I didn’t sleep for days thinking about what did I do that made you leave me— thinking about what my fault is. I hated you so much. I was going mad because no matter how much I looked for you, you weren’t there in my arms at the end of the day. But today, I realised it was stupid of me to believe what you wrote in that letter. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t love you anymore?’” Chanyeol snickers, and shakes his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe for the past two years, I fell for that. Just look at you now, you can’t even look at me in the eyes. Don’t lie to me, Baekhyun Pongsatorn— or should I call you Baekhyun Hyun? I know you better than anyone else. You wouldn’t hurt me intentionally, heck, you wouldn’t hurt a fly.” _

__

_ “I—” _

__

_ “I slowly try to learn to let you go over the years, it was so hard for me, Baekhyun. But, I would’ve still let you go, no matter how long it will take for me to heal. If you truly don’t love me anymore, I will go. I love you so fucking much that I’m willing to let you go as long as you’re happy but, look where we are? Fate is amazing, don’t you think so?” Chanyeol fumes, his chest heaving up and down in suppressed anger. “You ran away from me, but still life brought you back to me, closer than before.” _

__

_ “I don’t understan—” _

__

_ “I know you still feel the same way, Baekhyun. You can push me away all you want, I know that heart still beats for me, or else you wouldn’t be acting like this.” _

__

_ “I will discover the truth one day, Baekhyun, the reason you left, I will uncover it all. Two years ago, I know that wasn’t you. I’m sure that wasn’t you. Now that you’re here, I’m never letting you go again, never.” _

__

_ “I didn’t lie! W-What I wrote in the letter is all t-true. Our relationship wasn’t working out a-anymore. I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologises, pulling his head down to hide his face from the latter. _

__

_ Chanyeol forcefully pulls his chin up, albeit still gently and smirks at the sight of red-tainted cheeks. Baekhyun pulls his eyes away from looking at the taller. _

__

_ “Say that when you stop stuttering and can look at me in the eyes, cutie,” he pats the smaller on the cheeks and strides back into the house.  _

__

_ Baekhyun stands there, dumbfounded. _

Baekhyun shudders at the sudden hit of cold wind from the air-conditioner. He pulls the comforter tighter around him and Haeun, shielding her from the cool air.

All of sudden, he bursts out into sobs. He closes his eyes and just cries his heart out.

Why is Chanyeol reacting that way? Why isn’t he angry? 

Why? Just why?

Others would go batshit crazy after being left behind by their fiance— especially with nothing but just a mere note. 

Not even a proper goodbye or explanation.

So why?

He would be so much happier if Chanyeol is angry at him instead of acting that way. It makes his stomach churn in distaste— the guilt is eating him alive.

Baekhyun bites his lips tightly, wanting to conceal the sounds as much as possible, afraid of interrupting Haeun’s sleep. 

He sniffles and finally opens his eyes— only to be greeted by a pair of doe eyes watching him intently. 

Haeun scoots closer and Baekhyun opens his arms to engulf her in his embrace. He kisses her head, long, before loosening his hold on her.

“Pa— papa don’t cry… Eunnie is here…” the little voice speaks up.

Haeun turns to her side and grabs her favourite blankie. She cannot go to sleep without her blankie. 

She brings it closer and puts it right onto her papa’s face, then starts dabbing his tears away.

Baekhyun grimaces when the little fists keep on hitting him in the eye but smiles so brightly at the gesture. “Thank you, princess. Papa is feeling much better now.”

Haeun pulls the blanket away and leans closer to examine her papa’s face, looking for any sign of tears. Perhaps her papa is hiding the tears from her instead? 

When she realises that Baekhyun’s face is indeed dry from any sign of tears— although a little red, she leans back onto the pillow in relief.

Slowly, her eyelids start to flutter, succumbing into dreamland, though, her tiny hands still move up and down to pat her papa on his arms, as if consoling.

Baekhyun presses a kiss onto her forehead and before darkness consumes him, he remembers saying that he will protect Haeun from anything in the world. 

She is his world.

His precious daughter, Haeun.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Chanyeol takes big strides down the stairs, skipping two stairs each and moves quickly to the office situated on the first floor. 

Damn it! Why must grandpa’s house be so big?

He needs to get to his grandpa as fast as possible. 

Once in front of the huge door, he takes a deep breath and knocks twice. After hearing his grandfather respond, he opens the door and goes straight to sit in front of Grandpa Park.

“I’m sure you know why I’m here, grandpa.”

“I might be old, but I am nowhere near dense, child,” Grandpa Park says, he presses on the small button on the side of his table and calls for the maid.

Once telling her to make a hot earl grey tea for him and a glass of milk tea for his grandson, Grandpa leans on his chair and stares at the fidgeting male.

“What is this about, Chanyeol? Do you know Hyun? My workers told me that you two were together at the pool before dinner and Hyun didn’t come down for dinner, he has never done that before.”

“— Baekhyun. I know him as Byun Baekhyun, that is his full name… it’s Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says heavily.

“ _ Baekhyun _ ?” When he looks at his grandson’s exasperated face, it finally clicks why the name sounded so familiar when he was handed the resume by the petite male.

“Yes… Baekhyun. My  _ ex-fiance _ .”

Grandpa Park sits up from his seat, surprise evident on his face. He massages his chin and shakes his head in disbelief. 

“The one that ran away?”

“ Yes .” Chanyeol retorts sharply. He closes his eyes and his chest heaves up and down, containing his emotion from exploding. 

The one that ran away. 

Yes. 

That’s the perfect way to describe it.

No matter how hard it was from him to swallow. That was really the reality.

He was left alone one night without a mere goodbye— just a stupid note saying;

_ I’m sorry I don’t love you anymore. _

Grandpa Park takes a seat back into his chair and he massages his temple. He had no idea how Chanyeol’s fiance looked like. 

  
  


What are the odds that out of all the Baekhyuns in South Korea, the one who he decided to hire is none other than his grandson’s ex-fiance?

Chanyeol and his fiance were supposed to visit him in Australia.

He remembers Chanyeol telling him that the trip to the country of koalas and kangaroos was supposed to be a surprise gift for his fiance’s birthday.

But unfortunately, a month before his fiance’s birthday.

Chanyeol was left behind, alone.

He remembers how hard it was for his grandson, for the video call they had a week after his fiance’s left, Chanyeol on the screen wasn’t looking humane at all.

His grandson was miserable.

“Life works in a funny way indeed, child…”

“... Yes, it does,” Chanyeol answers, bitterness evident in his tone. “Is Haeun his daughter?”

“Hyun told me that Haeun is his daughter… I never properly asked. Is he a potential  _ carrier _ ?”

“I-I don’t know too…” Chanyeol pulls his head down, just realising how ignorant and terrible he was as Baekhyun’s fiance. 

“He doesn’t have any siblings, and his parents passed away when he was young. He’s lived in the orphanage since he was five. All of his friends are mine too. Is Haeun really mine?” he continues.

“I cannot answer that for you, Chanyeol.” 

Chanyeol stares at his fingers blankly. Why didn’t he think that Baekhyun might be a carrier before his grandpa asked him?

Some men have the ability to reproduce and they’re called carriers. 

They are rare, but not uncommon.

Chanyeol shakes his head. Baekhyun wouldn’t leave him if he was carrying their daughter. 

It doesn’t make any sense.

“How did you come to employ him, grandpa?”

“He’s a nice kid, Chanyeol. He helped me when no one else did.” 

_ Grandpa Park sat down on the bench after he started feeling faint from standing too long. _

__

_ Suddenly, as he was taking his rest, the rain started pouring so hard that Grandpa Park didn’t get the chance to move away. _

__

_ Everyone around him at the park was running away, taking shelter from the wet and Grandpa Park was left alone on the bench, soaking wet from head to toe. _

__

_ His vision began to get blurred and his head felt heavy. He tried to keep his eyes open but cannot seem to be able to before he heard a panic voice calling and then an umbrella was placed above his head to shield him from the rain. _

__

_ “Mister! Are you okay?” a young man asks with a baby safely strapped on his chest. _

__

_ “My h-head feels a l-little h-heavy, child,” he hardly mutters. “Can you get the phone from the back pocket of my backpack and ring the first dial?” _

__

_ “Yes, yes, sure!” the young man says, pitch higher than usual from the panic. He goes behind the old man and rummages through the bag, facing difficulties as he has to hold the umbrella above them. _

__

_ Thank god that he decided to bring an umbrella today.  _

__

_ He was so surprised to see an old man sitting alone on the bench, looking like he was a second away from collapsing! _

__

_ “Hello?! I am calling because I found the owner of the phone sitting alone at the park and he is drenched from head-to-toe! His condition doesn’t look so good, can you come and pick him up as soon as possible? I think we have to bring him to the hospital!” the young man says urgently as soon as the call was picked up. _

__

_ “Yes, yes! We’re at Hangang Park! Please come faster, thank you!” _

__

_ He then holds the phone in his hands and stands beside the older man, his hand tightly gripping the umbrella. _

__

_ Surprisingly, the baby in his hold, as if understanding the urgency, didn’t act much. She just stares at the two with her wide doe eyes before falling asleep to the sound of rain. _

__

_ “Mister, please hold on a little, help will come soon!” _

__

_ The young man anxiously looks left and right. Perhaps there is someone nearby that can help? _

__

_ He frowns when he sees that the park is void of anyone else except them. It’s acceptable since it was starting to get dark soon.  _

__

_ His face lights up when he sees a man in a suit scanning the park from afar. It seems like help is finally here! _

__

_ “Mister— mister! Here! We’re here!” the young man practically leaps from the bench and waves his hand frantically. His smile gets brighter when he sees that the latter has finally spotted them. _

__

_ The man in suit jogs to them with an umbrella in his hold.  _

__

_ “What happened?”  _

__

_ “I don’t know either! I found him drenched— wait, there’s no time to explain! We need to take him to the hospital right now!” _

__

_ The man, who is not that much taller than him, realises, quickly gets to the old man’s side and helps him get up. He supports the old man by holding onto his shoulders, carefully walking in short strides to the car parked not far from where they are. _

__

_ The young man later introduces himself as Hyun as soon as they are situated inside the car.  _

__

_ Hyun because the name Baekhyun bears so many memories he wants to forget. _

__

_ The car was literally flying across the road— the driver, who he now identifies as the secretary of the old man, is driving the vehicle at an inhumane speed and Baekhyun closes his eyes in fear. _

__

_ He wraps his dainty arms tighter across the bundle on his chest, thankful that his daughter is still asleep amidst the chaos. _

  
  
  
  
  


__

_ “How is your boss, Secretary Kim?” Baekhyun asks worriedly, his head craning to peer over the heads of a line of men standing stoically in front of the opened room. He unconsciously juts his lips when he fails to see the old man.  _

__

_ Why must these men be so tall? _

__

_ Earlier, he was so confused when he came back from the convenience store on the first floor to see all these scary-looking men guarding the room. _

__

_ He wondered if the old man was someone important. Secretary Kim just told him that his name is Grandpa Park. _

__

_ Not wanting to cause trouble, he took a seat on the chair outside the room and patted his little daughter on the back, humming a soft tune to lull her back to sleep. _

__

_ “Is he in a serious condition?” he continues to ask. _

__

_ “He is doing fine. He just needs to rest for now— since he was out in the rain for quite some time.” _

__

_ “Oh… I see… I’m glad then,” Baekhyun nods a few times, grateful and satisfied to find that the old man is doing fine now. _

__

_ “Then, I will take my leave now. I have some work to do. Please send my best regards to your boss,” Baekhyun says, bowing before turning away to leave. _

__

_ Secretary Kim’s voice calling for his name stops him from walking away. He turns back to face the tall man and tilts his head to the side, confused. _

__

_ “Is there anything more you need…?” _

__

_ “Can you leave down your phone number? I am sure that Grandpa Park would want to show you his gratitude soon.” _

__

_ “Oh… a phone number…?” _

__

_ “Yes, can you type it down here?” Junmyeon hands him his phone and opens the dial pad. _

__

_ Baekhyun rubs his head guiltily and shakes his head in embarrassment. “... I don’t have a phone actually.” He internally sighs when he remembers how he came to lose his old phone.  _

__

_ Let’s just say that Haeun is a naughty one who likes to throw her toys and one day had found his phone placed on the sofa before picking it up and throwing it down to the floor. _

__

_ Baekhyun could only stare at his broken phone in agony.  _

__

_ He doesn’t have enough money to buy a new one, especially since most of his income is used to buy Haeun's necessities.  _

__

_ Junmyeon widens his eyes before swiftly concealing his shock the next second, keeping a stoic face. This young man must be kidding, who doesn’t have a phone in this era?  _

__

_ “Then how can Grandpa Park contact you to pay his gratitude?” _

__

_ “Oh, that’s okay! Tell him that it’s my pleasure to help— he doesn’t need to repay me~” Baekhyun replies chirpily. He takes a glance at his worn-out watch before jumping in shock at how late he is for work! _

__

_ “Oh no! I really have to go, Secretary Kim! I’m really late for my part-time job, my boss is going to get angry!” the young man says again before sprinting off, not forgetting to bow again for the last time. _

__

_ “Let me drive you to work, Hyun-ssi!” _

__

_ From afar, Baekhyun waves his hand absentmindedly. “It’s alright! It’s not far from here, thank you for the offer!” _

__

_ Junmyeon could only look from afar as the shadow of Baekhyun and the little girl in his hold disappeared from the corridor. He wonders who the baby is.  _

__

_ Is she his daughter?  _

__

_ With that in mind, he turns back to enter the hospital room again.  _

  
  
  
  
  


_ Baekhyun goes out from the back door, holding a big plastic of garbage in each of his hands. He huffs when he finally lets go of the heavy burden. _

__

_ Sighing, he walks back to the restaurant and changes his uniform to head back home. _

__

_ Once outside, he looks up to the clear sky— grateful that there isn’t any sign that it might rain today. _

__

_ “Hyun?” a voice calls him from behind and Baekhyun quickly turns around before his eyes widen in surprise when he recognises the familiar figure. _

__

_ “Grandpa Park!” he exclaims excitedly. “Are you all well now?” _

__

_ “Yes, I am,” Grandpa Park smiles. “Thank you for helping this old man back then.” _

__

_ “It was no big deal, Grandpa Park! I was so worried about you, how are you doing now?”  _

__

_ “I’m doing so much better now… If you didn’t take me to the hospital, I might be in an even worse condition.” _

__

_ Baekhyun nods his head repeatedly, relieved from hearing that the old man dressed in a burgundy suit— a very expensive one too, he notes from the logo engraved beautifully on his side pocket— is doing fine now.  _

__

_ He peeks over to the side and shudders when he sees men dressed in black standing idly on the side of the road, their hands clamped tightly at each side of their body.  _

__

_ One accidentally made eye-contact with him and Baekhyun scampers back to look at the old man in front of him. _

__

_ So scary, he thinks. _

__

_ “Grandpa Park… those are…?” he hesitantly asks, before continuing his question. “... your bodyguards...?” _

__

_ Grandpa Park turns his head to look behind him and gestures something with his hand. Then, they collectively bow their heads at the young man. “Yes, they are.” _

__

_ Baekhyun bows back at them flusteredly and avoids eye-contact with them as he swiftly looks up and focuses on Grandpa Park instead. _

__

_ “Grandpa Park… I’m sorry for asking but, who are you exactly? Why do you have all these scary-looking men guarding you?”  _

__

_ The old man sighs heavily, “Let’s just say that I’m a man who has too much money.” _

Back to the present, Grandpa Park rummages through his drawer and hands Chanyeol a small file.

Inside the folder, is a few pictures of Baekhyun and a much smaller Haeun. There were candid pictures of him, from walking to the park while carrying Haeun to Baekhyun working in a restaurant and also a convenience store, with no Haeun insight.

Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows when he realises that Baekhyun is wearing three different uniforms in a day, the date on the corner of each picture giving it away.

Why did Baekhyun have so many jobs?

“What is this?” he questions.

“He had three part-time jobs in one day, Chanyeol. Three .”

Chanyeol scans through the photos again and his frown grows deeper with each second before questioning angrily. “Does he ever rest?”

“He works from dawn until eleven, then straight away until five. He gets home at six and continues working at a restaurant near his flat until ten.”

With the explanation, Chanyeol feels his head starting to get heavy and his throat feels raw. Baekhyun worked that much in the past?

“Where is Haeun? Does he take her to work?”

“Haeun stayed with his neighbour— she’s a widow and has a five-year-old daughter. She takes care of her when Hyun goes to work and gets paid by him monthly. He takes her back when he gets home from work at six and brings her to work at night. The owner at the restaurant he worked at adores Haeun so they let her play with their children when Baekhyun has to work,” the old man explains lengthyly.

Speechless, Chanyeol blinks his eyes in disbelief. What really happened to Baekhyun over the years?

“Look at the last picture, Chanyeol,” his grandfather instructs. Chanyeol flips the picture and again, is left breathless when he notices the condition of Baekhyun’s flat.

It was definitely rundown, with the molds sticking to every surface and almost covering the whole passage up the stairs with heaps of gravities and obscene drawings covering the walls.

Did Baekhyun live in this kind of condition?

“That’s not the worse thing, Chanyeol,” Grandpa Park interjects his thoughts. “He lived in such a dangerous neighbourhood that every night, drunkards would bang on his door and ask for money. It was so bad that Hyun had to call the police several times in a week.”

“Then… w-what happened?” Chanyeol stutters out painfully. His chest tightens at the thought of Baekhyun living so dangerously before this. 

_ Why did you leave if you are going to live so miserably? What went wrong honestly? _

“I offered him to work for me.”

“As a housekeeper?”

“As my caretaker— to remind me to take my meds every day as well as to inform Junmyeon if I am not going to the office, and so on; he really didn’t have to do much actually. But he said that the salary was too much for the amount of work so he insisted on being a housekeeper too. As you can see, I have maids to do that but I just let him be, as long as he works for me,” Grandpa Park says. “But, before that of course, he refused. He was so adamant on not living here and insisted that it was alright to travel back and forth to his flat. I convinced him saying that the flat is too dangerous for him to bring a child up— especially a daughter at that. He gave in after I mentioned Haeun's safety. You can see that he loves her so much, Chanyeol.” 

“How long has he worked here?”

“Almost 8 months starting next week. Hyun is a lovely kid, he’s young but very hardworking. I didn’t have any problems since I started employing him.”

“He— I— I’m… speechless… I can’t believe he’s a housekeeper. He really wanted to be a teacher— but he dropped out of college in his third year. He didn’t even say goodbye to his friends, to me , and just disappeared one day…” 

“Do you hate him?’

Chanyeol gulps at the question and shakes his head agonisingly. “For the past two years, I thought I hated him so much… but, when he’s here , right in front of me again… I realised… I never hated him— I was just  _ mad  _ that he left…”

The elder man crosses his arms and looks at his grandson with sympathy. Chanyeol doesn’t have any clue why Baekhyun left— let alone him, who just knew the young man for a few months, not even a year.

“... I love him still, grandpa. God, _ I still love him _ — even after what he did,  _ I love him _ .”

Grandpa Park gets up from his chair and takes a seat beside his grandson. He pulls Chanyeol into a hug and pats him on the back, comforting. 

Chanyeol finally breaks down and sobs into his grandfather’s shoulder. “I-I feel s-so sorry for h-him after knowing h-he lived t-that miserably— a-and Haeun, i-is she really m-mine? I’m terrible f-for not k-knowing, grandpa…”

After a while, Chanyeol seems to calm down and he loosens the hug. He clears his throat, now starting to feel his cheeks heating up for breaking down in front of his grandfather. He scratches his head aimlessly and scolds himself internally for that embarrassing break down.

The old man chuckles and pats him on the back again, “Don’t be embarrassed, seeing you like that reminds me that you are indeed my grandson. You used to cry when your little sister stole candies from you.”

“Grandpa!”

“What? I was telling the truth,” Grandpa Parks cackles lovingly. 

Chanyeol purses his lips and starts again, “We’ve been together for three years, grandpa… and I was engaged to him for a year already. I know him better than anyone else— but, why didn’t I think it was suspicious for him to leave so suddenly? I was so busy wallowing in sadness that I couldn’t think straight. But now, with the way he is acting around me, I’m even more sure that he’s hiding something…”

“Hyun… he doesn’t show it but, you can see the sadness in his eyes, Chanyeol. What will you do now?”

“I’ll find out the truth— and every single thing that he’s hiding from me.”

“I’m glad, then. He’s a diligent worker, it would be such a loss to lose someone like him so make sure he doesn’t quit Chanyeol— don’t do things that will make him quit. This is a warning, alright?”

Chanyeol snorts and says unsatisfyingly, “Hey, who’s your grandson actually?”

“Both of you are... I have also considered him as my grandson already.”

Chanyeol smiles softly, he’s glad. “He will be your official grandson…  _ soon  _ .”

Grandpa Park lets out a big laugh and arches his eyebrow, “ That confident, huh?”

“Coming back was the best choice I’ve made in awhile. I think fate is really on my side, even when he left, we still ended up crossing paths. I will find out the truth and make him mine again.”

“You really love him, huh? Please do things wisely, I don’t want you to get hurt, after all, you’re still my grandson.”

“Yes, I do… He’s everything to me and don’t worry, this grandson of yours knows his ways in charming people,” Chanyeol jokes.

“Take care of him, Chanyeol. Solve everything between you two properly. He may not show it but he’s silently hurting and I know that you are too…”

  
  
  
  
  


Chanyeol wakes up feeling rather fresh this morning.

Maybe it is because he now has a new goal in mind and he is driven by the thought of achieving it that he somehow feels more energised than usual.

His steps are light and he is humming a rather cheerful tone under his breath. As soon as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he makes a beeline to the dining table and the corner of his lips immediately curls up, his eyes turning crescent-shaped from smiling so widely at the sight that greeted him.

Haeun is sitting at the table in her baby chair, her chubby hands holding onto a half-eaten piece of apple and her eyes locked onto the screen of a tablet while the sound of cartoons resonates through the air. She is too engrossed in her cartoon to notice that another being has joined her at the table.

Chanyeol takes a seat opposite her and watches the little girl with an adoring smile. He is so inclined to go where she is seated but afraid of scaring her, so he settles for just watching her from a distance.

The head maid later comes in with a tray of little bowls filled with side dishes. Chanyeol figures that he’s having quite a feast for breakfast. 

From behind, Baekhyun follows her with a big bowl of plain multigrain rice. He keeps his head down and places the porcelain on the table without looking up.

“Good morning, young master. Today, we grilled short ribs for breakfast. Please call me if you need anything. Enjoy your breakfast,” Ploy bows and leaves the table.

On the side, Baekhyun contemplates whether he should greet the ‘young master’ too. He stands there awkwardly and decides to reach for his daughter first; afraid that she might be bothering Chanyeol while he eats breakfast.

“Good morning, young master. Enjoy your meal,” he greets, a hint of awkwardness in his voice. It’s not always you get to call your ex-fiance, a young master . “Let’s go, princess, let’s watch it in our room okay, we cannot interrupt the young master’s breakfast.”

“Drop the title, Baekhyun. It’s making me uncomfortable. You know that anyone but you should be calling me that.” 

Baekhyun keeps mum and avoids any chance of eye contact by keeping his eyes trained on his daughter. 

“Call me like usual, we’re not exactly strangers.”

“Uhh— okay— um sure.” Baekhyun replies absentmindedly and puts the tablet away, earning a long whine from Haeun but he pays her no heed. “Let’s go, princess.”

“Let her seat, she’s not intruding— have you had breakfast?” Chanyeol asks.

Well, of course not.

The side dishes were done only a few minutes ago.

But of course, Baekhyun would do anything but sit there and have breakfast with his ex-lover.

“You haven’t, I supposed? Come sit down and join me. It gets a bit lonely eating alone sometimes.”

Baekhyun raises his brows and internally scoffs. _ That’s because you wake up at noon and everyone is already done with breakfast hours before you.  _

_ What did he do staying up all night? Talking to his new lover, perhaps?  _

Baekhyun unknowingly pouts and his eyes droop. That really was none of his business. Why does he keep caring god damn it!

“Err— it’s okay we can have it late—”

“—I insist,” Chanyeol interrupts and grabs his arms, stopping him from leaving.

Baekhyun hides his frowns and defeatedly takes a seat opposite of the taller. Haeun makes grabby hands at him, wanting to have her cartoons back on and Baekhyun reprimands her slowly, his tone firm.

“Breakfast first, Haeun.”

Haeun looks close to tears and she wiggles in her seat, turning her body away from her papa, feeling sulky. Only then, she realises that someone else is at the table too; it is the tall mister from who carried her before!

Curiosity gets to her and she turns back to face her papa and leans forward to whisper to him. 

“Papa, who is that mish-ter?”

“Hello, baby girl. You can call me Uncle Chanyeol… what’s your name?” Chanyeol cheerfully greets, his dimples showing by how wide he is smiling.

She really is too adorable for his own good. His heart feels like it would burst every time she looks at him with those two doe eyes.

What will he do if she really is his daughter? The question replays at the back of his mind like a broken record.

“...Byun H-haeunnie…” she hides her face behind her tiny hands, feeling shy when the good-looking uncle keeps on looking at her.

“A pretty name for a pretty little girl.”

Breakfast went on alright if Baekhyun could say— albeit with a little moment of awkwardness here and there when he kept catching Chanyeol looking at him with an unexplainable gaze.

He guesses he deserves it. 

He wouldn’t stop staring at his past lover too if he was left behind without a proper explanation.

It was good enough that Grandpa Park and Chanyeol did not kick them out of the house.

And as for Chanyeol, this is progress. They’re finally sitting together and Baekhyun is not running away from him like he was for the past few days. 

The younger would vanish as soon as his shadow comes into frame. Chanyeol really wonders if the smaller has a radar to detect his presence; it was so hard to bump into him.

The house is huge, he knows, but what miracle is it that he hadn’t bumped into Baekhyun at all since their conversation at the swimming pool?

He knows that he was somewhat forceful just now, but then, he didn’t exactly force Baekhyun to stay for breakfast, he just asked him nicely and gave him no room to resist.

There’s a difference.

With fires in his eyes, he mutters to himself. 

_ “This will take some time but I will find out the truth and make you mine again.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so do you think haeun is really baekhyun's daughter? tell me what you think~~
> 
> i love reading your comments ;D
> 
> twt: @sparklehyunee


	3. Three

Baekhyun sighs for the nth time. Haeun is being difficult again.

He massages his temple weakly; he can feel a series of headaches attacking soon.

Why is Haeun acting up today out of all the days? He has way too many works to do instead of catering to her request of playing with Mochi in the garden. It’s not like they haven’t been out in the garden since an hour ago; Baekhyun has been accompanying her since they had finished breakfast earlier. 

But, It’s almost noon and Grandpa Park will come back home soon for lunch.

Baekhyun has to help out in the kitchen but he cannot just leave Haeun alone in the spacious garden. As a parent, like any other parents out there, of course, he would never leave his child unsupervised. God forbid the possibilities that could happen.

“Haeun… papa has work to do, baby… Do you want to go inside and watch cartoons instead?” he tries coaxing her, brushing her long hair away from her sweaty face. 

“No!” comes the firm answer.

This won’t do… he thinks. He gathers his strength and picks her up into his hold. 

And soon, her shrill cries fill the entire garden and it is apparently loud enough that Chanyeol, who is busy doing something on his laptop at the table in the glass garden, looks up at the sudden cry, alarmed.

He furrows his eyebrows when he sees Haeun wiggling with all her strength in Baekhyun’s hold, and her small papa looking like he is struggling to not let her fall to the ground.

Quickly getting up from the chair, he makes his way outside and approaches the father and daughter duo with a worried look.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, Haeun is just acting up. You can go back to work, young master.”

Chanyeol puts his arm on his hips, looking mildly annoyed at the title. “I told you to drop the title.”

Before Baekhyun could retort back, the baby girl in his arms cries harder, sobbing her heart out as she gestures to the puppy at her papa’s foot.

“Eunnie wants to play with pu-puppy! Haeunnie wants Mochi, pa— papa!” she sobs. Her little doe eyes look at the tall uncle in front of her as if asking for help. 

“Un-uncle please help H-haeunnie… Eunnie wants to play with Mo-mochi,” she pleads in between her tears. 

Not believing his ears (and eyes), Baekhyun looks at his daughter as if she had grown another head. Byun Haeun asking someone else for help? When she couldn’t even look at the newcomer in the eyes before this? And with her attitude of always shying away from a stranger?

It took her months to open up to Grandpa Park and Secretary Kim when she meets them almost every day for the past month.

Chanyeol, feeling weak at the teary eyes looking up at him with full of hope, rubs his head unsurely. He contemplates whether he should listen to the little girl or not, especially feeling the deep gaze from the shorter male, looking at him as if silently saying “Don’t you dare.”

“How about… you go work, Baekhyun, and I’ll look after her here?”

“ _ Yeol _ !” Baekhyun impulsively calls and froze in his spot when he realises he calls his ex-lover in such an intimate way— he used to call him that all the time back then.

Chanyeol cannot conceal his surprise and raises one eyebrow brazenly. “Wow… I haven’t heard that in two years… I really miss you calling me like that…”

“ _ That’s not the point _ — I’ll take her inside, and please go and continue your work, we won’t bother you.”

Chanyeol stops him from leaving, extending his long arms in front of the smaller male. “Let her play, Baek. I can take care of her too.”

Haeun who is too exhausted from bawling her eyes out, weakly raises her head from Baekhyun’s shoulders and pleads in a soft voice. “ _ Pwish… _ papa…”

Her crestfallen face tugs his heart and Baekhyun, finally realising that he has been overpowered, carefully puts her down on the grass. He wipes her tears away with his thumbs and pats her on her chubby cheeks twice.

“Okay, you can play— but remember Haeun,  _ behave  _ or papa won’t let you play in the garden again.”

Then, he hesitantly stands up and spares Chanyeol a look for a second only before averting his eyes away. This stupid heart of him decides that at this exact moment it wants to beat so loudly! 

_ Please calm down, dear heart. Why are you behaving this way? _

“Please look after her, young master,” he says before leaving.

Chanyeol grabs him by the arm, gently and stops him from moving away. “Not so fast, dear— what happens to Yeol?”

“I apologised, I was too rash earlier… and w-we’re not in that kind of relationship a-anymore…” Baekhyun stuttered. “Please let go of my arm.”

“Not until you change that  _ hideous  _ way of calling me, Baek.”

Baekhyun bits his lips nervously and glances at his watch. It’s almost lunchtime already. Grandpa Park will be back in any minute.

Damn his slip of tongue earlier!

Inhaling deeply, he sighs out a defeated, “Please… let go,  _ Chanyeol _ .”

Chanyeol grins, pleased and loosens his grip on the smaller arm. Baekhyun, without looking back, dashes away from the latter at lightning speed.

Chanyeol turns to look at the little girl and softly smiles when she cackles loudly at the Maltese licking her hand sloppily. 

He takes a seat next to her and caresses her dark brown hair. “Haeun likes to play with… Mochi, is it?”

“Yes!” she claps eagerly.

He looks at her adoringly and takes his chance to scan her face. 

He could see the resemblance with himself. Is she really his? But why did Baekhyun move away when they could’ve raised her together like any other couples in love?

_ Whatever they had back then, was it even real? _ Chanyeol really couldn’t help but wonder.

But he quickly tosses the thoughts away from his mind. From the way Baekhyun is behaving at this moment, he still looks pretty much  _ in love _ with him— he won’t move away without any core reason, Chanyeol rationalises.

“Does Haeun know how old Mochi is?” Chanyeol strikes a conversation.

Haeun stops petting her pet before looking up and scratches her chin as if thinking. 

“Mochi is… Mochi is—  _ hmm _ ... many years old!” she shows her stubby fingers excitedly and Chanyeol laughs.

He knows that the pet dog is only a little over a year old and he is just teasing her. He finds it hilarious when she puts six fingers up so confidently.

“Haeun is so smart... “

Suddenly, a voice from behind interrupts the two from their conversation.

“How are my favourite people doing?” Grandpa Park greets.

Haeun immediately gets up from seating and sprints towards the old man. 

“Grandpa!!”

Grandpa Park crouches to welcome her into a hug and almost topples over from the sudden weight in his embrace. Haeun is by all means not heavy, his old age is just taking a toll on his knees.

Chanyeol approaches the two with his arms crossed and bows his head to greet the elder. Grandpa Park pats him on the back and beckons them to sit on the chair inside the air-conditioned glass garden.

Once they have taken a seat, Chanyeol asks. “How was your work, grandpa?”

Haeun on Grandpa Park’s lap extends her hand to the old man, asking for cartoons on his phone and the latter rubs her head affectionately while shaking his head.

“Grandpa’s phone is out of battery, sweetie.”

Haeun pouts at the answer. She doesn’t like what she is hearing clearly.

As the little girl looks a second away from tears, Chanyeol comes to the rescue by offering her his phone instead. 

Happily, she hops off Grandpa Park’s legs and clings onto Chanyeol’s instead, asking him to pick her up. When she is settled on his lap, only then both adults look relieved.

“Better if the future  _ president  _ of the company can get to work soon,” the old man answers with an eyebrow raised.

Chanyeol snorts at his grandpa’s passive-aggressive answer. “I just got back— let me rest some more, grandpa.”

Grandpa Park has been managing the company alone for almost a year, monitoring the company closely as Chanyeol’s father is now handling the branch in Europe. 

He was managing the company alone and it is now time for Chanyeol to take over, especially with his great business-handling skills and he has had enough time getting accustomed to the business world.

“I’ve been managing it alone, Chanyeol— it’s time to give this old man a break,” Grandpa Park rubs his temple playfully, acting as if a headache is coming.

Chanyeol laughs before nodding his head in understanding. Of course, he will surely help the old man manage the company but there are some things he has to settle first.

“ _ Soon _ , grandpa… I have something to do first…” 

Grandpa Park looks at his grandson knowingly and nods his head. He understands.

“Don’t take too long, Chanyeol.”

  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun furrows his brow and rubs his eyes a few times in disbelief at the sight he is seeing. Is his daughter sitting on Chanyeol’s lap or are his eyes playing a trick on him?

He steps closer to the grandfather and grandson duo with a tray of warm tea and a cup of orange juice for Chanyeol, behind him, a few other maids follow with a plate of dishes each.

It is the first time that Grandpa Park had asked to dine somewhere else other than the dining room. 

Putting down the tray, he eyes Haeun in disbelief. She is really watching her cartoons on Chanyeol’s lap— and she dares to snuggle one of his arm’s like a bolster too!

Has it always been that easy for her to open up to strangers?!

“Haeun, come to papa— let’s not bother grandpa and young master’s lunch. We’ll continue the cartoons upstairs, alright?” Baekhyun beckons, offering his arm to carry her up.

“I thought we agreed to drop the title, Baek— we’re not strangers,” Chanyeol intervenes monotonously.

Before Baekhyun could bite back, Grandpa Park butts in. “Sit down, Hyun. Have lunch with us.”

Baekhyun can never argue with the old man who had basically sheltered him and Haeun from the dangerous outside, so he takes a seat beside Grandpa kit without saying much— though his eyes pan away from looking at Chanyeol and Haeun sitting in front of him.

“I believe we also have to talk, Hyun…”

Baekhyun breaks out in a cold sweat at Grandpa’s words, afraid of getting fired. 

_ Chanyeol didn’t tell him about us, did he? _

His question is soon answered when Grandpa Park nods his head as if understanding what was going on inside his mind.

Baekhyun ducks his head down in embarrassment— of course, Chanyeol would tell Grandpa Park. He’s a part of his family.

Baekhyun is so ashamed of himself he didn’t even want to look up for a second. 

Grandpa Park knows how terrible of a human being he is now— he left his fiance without a reason and suddenly he’s back and living together with him  _ and  _ his daughter too.

Grandpa Park rubs his back and asks him to look up. “I won’t fire you, Hyun, if that’s what you’re thinking…”

“I adore both of you, Chanyeol, you’re my grandson and Hyun— I’ve also considered you and Haeun as a family. I don’t want both of you to get hurt— so I hope both of you can come up with a conclusion— a solution soon… it hurts me when you’re both hurting…” Grandpa Park adds.

“And, Hyun, if this man ever hurts you or makes you uncomfortable— tell me. I know how to teach him…” Grandpa Park finally jokes to lighten up the sombre mood surrounding them.

Baekhyun cracks a smile and nods, still avoiding eye contact with the taller man opposite of him. He knows that Chanyeol is staring at him— no, Chanyeol didn’t stop gawking at him ever since he got into the space. 

However, during lunch, he almost breaks down when he sees how gently Chanyeol is treating Haeun. Chanyeol doesn’t let him get her and insists on feeding her— only after she finishes eating then Chanyeol pulls another plate and begins eating.

“Let me feed her— you can continue eating.”

“Haeun, say  _ ahh… _ ” Chanyeol says playfully and gently smiles when she opens her mouth. 

“Yummy?” Haeun nods before focusing her eyes back on her cartoon.

_ Chanyeol is so kind… he really didn’t deserve him at all… _

Baekhyun ducks his head down and swallows the lump in his throat, breathing in heavily to calm down his racing heart.

If both the grandson and grandfather duo notice him acting weirdly, they didn’t call him out and let him be.

The uncomfortable silence envelops the whole period of lunch.

When Grandpa Park excuses himself inside to rest— Baekhyun not forgetting to remind him to take his meds once inside— then Baekhyun also gets up from his chair, wanting to quickly escape from being in the same room as Chanyeol as fast as possible.

However, his feet stop when he hears Chanyeol’s words.

“Haeun is as pretty as you, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun doesn’t turn around and instead stares at the space in front of him.

“She kinda looks like me too, now that I’m this close to her— I can see our resemblance.”

“She  _ doesn’t _ ,” Baekhyun retorts back sharply. 

“Really? I think our nose and eyes are kinda the same— I bet she’s really mine, isn’t she?”

“No, stop it. She’s not and she will never be.”

“Then—”

“I’m not having this conversation with you anymore— Haeun, lets go and wash up,” 

The toddler whines when Baekhyun grabs the phone away from her and places it onto the table. Walking away, Baekhyun takes a glance back secretly and notices how Chanyeol is watching them with an unreadable gaze.

Chanyeol takes the phone Baekhyun puts down and dials a familiar number. He smiles when the call is picked up at the first ring.

“Let’s meet up, I have a favour to ask.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun gets out of the bath after refreshing himself up. Dressing himself up in a comfortable nightwear, he opens the veranda wide to let the cold night in.

Haeun is already fast asleep on the bed and Baekhyun takes it as his chance to think and calm down his jumbled mind.

He didn’t expect this to happen. 

Why is the world against him? He just wants what’s the best for him and his daughter— his life was almost perfect until Chanyeol came back into their life.

Baekhyun cannot say he hates the taller man— when everything is his fault instead.

He left.

He left his fiance for whatever reason without any explanation.

If there is something he should feel for the latter is;

Guilt.

He overhead Chanyeol and Grandpa Park talking about business earlier. He is happy for Chanyeol, knowing that he is soon to be inheriting and leading the company.

Chanyeol had always been so determined and his hard work had finally paid off. Baekhyun knows how much the latter studied back in college in order to please his parents.

He sacrificed his dream to be an architect and instead majored in business.

_ “In this world, we cannot have everything we want, sweetheart— I guess this is what I have to pay for being born into this family,” Chanyeol had reasoned one day when Baekhyun curiously asked why he has books about architecture on the bookshelves. _

Baekhyun was there on days where Chanyeol would get home exhausted after long hours of working. He was there to see as the ring under his eyes got darker every day when he worked extra hours to prove himself worthy of leading the company later.

Contrary to what people always think, Chanyeol did not have the company handed to him on a silver platter.

That was one thing that Baekhyun admired about him. Although it is already confirmed and as obvious as a tree that Chanyeol would be the leader to his family’s company— he didn’t slack off.

He worked his way from the bottom— struggling like everyone else in order to maintain a good reputation.

Though, it is still undeniable that the company will be handed to him when the time comes.

Baekhyun is silently proud that Chanyeol has managed to earn the trust of the higher-ups and is about to take the president title for Zeus Group at the young age of 28 years-old.

After daydreaming for almost an hour while soaking up the midnight air, Baekhyun finally gets inside and prepares for bed when a knock reverberates through the room.

_ Who might it be so late at night? _

Baekhyun opens the door without much thought and gaps, his heart skipping a beat when he spots who it is.

Time seems to stop ticking as he locks eyes with the much taller figure outside of the room.

As something snaps inside him, Baekhyun quickly asks why the latter is here.

“W-what do you want— I mean, why are you here?” Realising he sounded rude, Baekhyun changes his question.

“Nothing… I just want to see you— I haven’t seen you since this afternoon…”

Baekhyun stands there not knowing what to do and he plays with his fingers, nervousness itching upon him when silence follows. 

“... Is Haeun asleep?” 

Baekhyun nods and moves to the side to let Chanyeol see her on the bed— only then he realises he moved out of instinct and softly scolds himself.

“Ah… I’m glad then, goodnight, Baek,” Chanyeol ruffles his hair and steps away without waiting for his reply. Baekhyun could only stare as the back of his fiance slowly disappeared from his view.

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ “Noona— ! Please wake up— oh my god, someone help!” _

__

_ “Someone please help! Chaewon noona— please— please, wake up! You can’t leave me! PLEASE!” _

Baekhyun stirs awake and silently screams as he gets up from laying down. He feels tears trickling down his cheeks and he sobs into his hand, muffling it in order to not disturb the sleeping toddler beside him. 

He hasn’t had that dream for a while.

Baekhyun softly wipes the tears away from his cheeks and pulls his legs together, burying his face into his knee. 

He misses her so much.

  
  
  
  
  
  


In another room, Chanyeol blankly stares at the laptop screen, his mind remembering the conversation he had with his old friend.

A private detective named Jongin who he accidentally met back in New York. They met at a Korean restaurant when Jongin accidentally bumped into him on his way out of the dining.

Coincidentally, Jongin is also back in Seoul for he is tasked with another job.

_ “What do you mean there’s no record of Byun Baekhyun?” _

__

_ “I couldn’t find any records on Byun Baekhyun. The last transaction he made with his card was at a bus terminal two years ago in May— he bought a ticket to a village in South Jeolla Province. However, I searched for Byun Haeun too just in case and…” _

__

_ “And...?” _

__

_ “For Byun Haeun… her latest record is a flight ticket…” _

__

_ “Flight ticket?” Chanyeol asks with a raise of his brow. _

__

_ “Yes— a flight ticket to Incheon Airport from Heathrow JFK, a year ago in August of 2019.” _

__

_ “London?” _

__

_ If Haeun was in London, that means Baekhyun was there with her too.  _

  
  


_ What was Baekhyun doing in London, so far away from their home country? Baekhyun had been away in a foreign country all this time?  _

__

_ When did he leave? _

__

_ Why did he leave South Korea? _

__

_ “This is all I could find in a few hours— somehow her records are so hard to track too, as if someone is protecting her… or them…” Jongin mutters as he sips on his orange juice. “Credit card transactions shouldn’t be this hard to track, though— it’s mindblowing how much I had to dig to find some basic stuff about this guy.” _

  
  


_ Chanyeol keeps silent, the frown etched on his forehead enough to relay thousand words. _

  
  


_ “I can dig more about Byun Baekhyun though, I’m sure his records are there somewhere… I was short on time since you wanted them urgently.” _

The meeting he had with Jongin replays in his head like a broken record.

So many questions are running in his head.

He recalls telling Jongin to find out more about Baekhyun— it doesn’t matter how small the details are, because he wants to know every single thing.

All this time Chanyeol thought that Baekhyun was in Seoul , but it turns out he was miles away from their home country.

But for what reason exactly?

That, he needs to find out himself.

He knows that Baekhyun will keep his mouth shut as long as he can. The younger can be hard-headed at times.

Chanyeol falls asleep with a heavy heart that night.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Baekhyun climbs down the stairs with careful steps, carrying a big bouquet of wilted flowers to throw them away. Every other day, he is tasked to change all the flowers in the room with fresh new ones. 

It varied from baby’s breath to roses or even daffodils. 

Baekhyun’s personal favourite is daffodils— as it symbolises rebirth and new beginnings.

A new beginning.

That is what he needed the most.

But the past somehow hunts him up till this day— how can he let go when there are so many unanswered questions?

How can he let go when everything is all his fault?

Does he deserve a new beginning at all after hurting his loved one just like that?

“Careful!” A hand comes from behind and holds him by the middle, saving him from a nasty fall that could result in a bruised face— or even worse, a sprained ankle.

Chanyeol puts his hand on his chest to calm down his racing heart and heaves a sigh. Baekhyun looks almost shaken up as he hugs the flowers closer to his body while muttering apologies. 

“I’m so sorry,  _ Yeol—  _ I wasn’t paying attention… thank you, ” Baekhyun unconsciously mutters, his eyes shaking at the shock still— completely unaware that he had voluntarily called Chanyeol so intimately.

Chanyeol is stunned beyond words.

Baekhyun is calling his name with such familiarity.

Chanyeol misses this— the special tone that Baekhyun would use with him. It’s not whiny, but so soft with almost a pleading tone, it stirs something inside his heart.

His heart clenches recalling their past memories.

“Be careful, Baek,” Chanyeol says with a firm tone. 

He was so afraid that the younger might fall earlier— his soul almost left his body when Baekhyun lost his balance. Imagine what would happen if he wasn’t there?

Chanyeol shivers at the thought of the possibilities.

“I’m sorry, young master.”

Chanyeol’s face instantly hardens at the words. There he goes again with that title. 

“C-can you let go of m-me? I’m f-fine now—” Baekhyun stutters without looking at him.

Chanyeol then realises he still has both his arms securely around Baekhyun’s dainty waist and steps back. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay— thank you again, young mas—”

“Chanyeol.” Chanyeol cuts.

“— C-chanyeol…”

Chanyeol nods, satisfied that the younger is not rebutting his words.

“Do you need help with the flowers? They look heavy.” Chanyeol asks, concerned that the smaller male might lose his steps and trip again.

Baekhyun shakes his head and urgently says, “No! It’s alright— I can carry them myse—” Before he could finish his sentence, Chanyeol swoops down and wraps his arms around the flowers and snatches it from his hold.

“Chanyeol! I can carry them myself!” After snapping out of his trance, Baekhyun runs after the taller man who is already at the bottom of the staircase. 

“It’s fine, I’m already carrying them— where should I put this?”

Baekhyun bites his lips and points to the kitchen. 

“Just put them in the store at the kitchen, I will throw them out later— are you sure you can carry that?” Baekhyun asks absentmindedly— only then realising his question made no sense since Chanyeol is obviously bigger and much stronger than he is when Chanyeol chuckles.

“They’re not heavy, Baekhyun— don’t say you’re worried about me, hm?” Chanyeol teases, his heart feeling light. 

“I-I’m not!” Baekhyun objects, his cheeks slowly turning red. That was a stupid question, really!

Chanyeol grins and shakes his head at seeing the younger scurry away in embarrassment. He hasn’t felt this happy for a while.

They can finally have a decent conversation without Baekhyun looking like he wants to run away every passing second or looks like he is conversing with a ghost, his eyes darting anywhere but at him.

This, for Chanyeol, is progress.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Once done putting away the dried flowers, Chanyeol trudges to the living room to look for any sign of human being— Baekhyun had also disappeared on him earlier and he hasn’t seen anyone after him.

Where is everyone? He wonders.

The big house feels too quiet— it’s the weekend and there should at least be little Haeun running around at the living room with Mochi in tow or Grandpa reading the morning newspaper on the couch while on a lookout for the toddler.

But now it is eerily quiet and there’s no trace of even the maids doing the chores around the house.

He finally spots Baekhyun in one of the guest rooms on the first floor, rearranging the flowers again.

He approaches the smaller carefully and taps on his shoulders. The smaller turns at the speed of light while clenching his shirt, surprised at the sudden visitor.

“God— you scared me!”

“Where is everyone?”

Baekhyun turns back to his flowers. “They’re out gardening— Grandpa Park asked everyone to join.”

“All the maids too?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you here?” Chanyeol couldn't help but question. 

“I’m not done yet with my task, I’ll join them later…” Baekhyun answers. “Go and join them, Chanyeol.” 

He points to the door with one hand on his hips— as if asking the taller to stop bothering him and go elsewhere.

Chanyeol’s lip tugs into a smile at the term and the gesture. “I like it when you call me ‘Chanyeol’.”

Baekhyun purses his lips at the teasing tone and shrugs. Not knowing where he got the confidence from, he jabs. “Well, I can call you ‘young master’ too if you like.”

Only then he realises how casual his remark sounded and he hides his blush behind his fingers. 

Chanyeol’s deep chuckle resonates through the room. “When did you get so sassy?”

His question is left unanswered when Baekhyun ignores him and continues rearranging the flowers, his face now hidden from the taller male’s view.

“Go on, Baekhyun. I won’t bother you anymore— see you later,” Chanyeol bids before leaving the room with a wide smile.

However, when Chanyeol is entirely out of the door, Baekhyun numbly answers the question.

_ “When you have a baby to take care of and juggle through the harsh reality, sometimes a strong facade is needed, Chanyeol… You cannot survive if you’re weak.” _

He gently caresses the pendant on his necklace hidden inside his shirt with his thumb.

“I miss you,  _ Chaewon noona _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone: wHO IS THIS CHAEWON?!?!  
> me: ...yall hear sumn...
> 
> n e ways what do you think of this chapter? chanbaek got progress don't they ;D
> 
> see you in the next chapter bubYE


End file.
